White Whale Records was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lassiff in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and probably best known as the
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
of
The TurtlesThe Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
.
White Whale also released
Nino Tempo & April StevensNino Tempo & April Stevens are a brother and sister act from Niagara Falls, New York. Formed in the early 1960s when Nino Tempo and April Stevens signed as a duo with Atco Records, the group had a string of Billboard hits and earned a Grammy Award as "best rock & roll record of the year" for the...
's single "All Strung Out (On You)", a hit single by
Rene y ReneRene y Rene was a Latin pop duo from Laredo, Texas. Composed of Rene Ornelas and Rene Herrera , the group scored two hit singles in the U.S. in the 1960s. 1964's "Angelito" peaked at #43 on the U.S...
titled "Lo Mucho Que Ti Quiero", an album by
Liz Damon's Orient ExpressLiz Damon's Orient Express was a 1970s band from Hawaii, featuring lead singer Liz Damon, two female backup singers and a rotating backup band. The name apparently derived from the original backup band being entirely Asian. Their only song to make the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 was "1900 Yesterday",...
, and the only album by Texas band
The CliqueThe Clique are a late 1960s U.S. sunshine pop band from Beaumont, Texas, 90 miles east of Houston.The group was centered around record producer/songwriter Gary Zekley, who often employed session musicians...
.
Warren ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
was a staff
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for the label, and they issued some of his earliest recordings (as part of the duo Lyme & Cybele).
When White Whale signed the Turtles, they were known as "The Crossfires"; a
surf musicSurf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
band looking to change their style, as surf music was fading. The label encouraged a name change to "The Tyrtles", in the manner of
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and
The ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. The band accepted the new name, but not the variant spelling. Relations between the label and the band were not always smooth, with White Whale pressuring the band for "more hits", then for singers
Howard KaylanHoward Kaylan is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band, The Turtles, and "Eddie" of 1970's rock band Flo & Eddie.-Early days:...
and
Mark VolmanMark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "The Phlorescent Leech"...
to fire the rest of the group, and work instead with hired musicians, to save costs. Kaylan wrote the song "
Elenore"Elenore" is a 1968 song by American pop-rock group The Turtles, originally included on the album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands. Its writing was co-credited to the five members of the band, Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Pons and John Barbata...
" as a humorous take on "Happy Together" (the only #1 hit for both the group and the White Whale label), which ironically became a hit itself. He and Volman also democratized the group, insisting everyone share in the writing and vocal duties, despite what the label wanted.
When the Turtles disbanded in the early 1970s, White Whale lost their big moneymaker, and they went out of business not long after. The label's final Billboard Top 40 hit single was "1900: Yesterday" by Liz Damon's Orient Express. White Whale's assets were sold at auction, and the winners of the Turtles's
master recordingA multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s were Kaylan and Volman, making them the owners of their own work.
Three compilations of singles from the label have been released on CD:
Happy Together: The Very Best of White Whale Records, and two volumes of the
Phantom Jukebox series, on Rev-Ola records.
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/revola/artists/variousartists.htm
External links